STUART — To many, a helicopter ride touring Florida’s eastern waterways would be a delight. But that’s not the reaction U.S. Senator Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) said he felt Thursday when flying over the St. Lucie River and Indian River Lagoon. “What I saw was a river that had no life,” Nelson said. “There were no mullet jumping. There were no seagulls. There were no pelicans diving. There was no osprey. All of it was not a functioning river.” The tour preceded a Stuart meeting with scientists, elected officials and other public agencies where attendees discussed the problems plaguing the lagoon and possible solutions. In the northern part of the Indian River Lagoon, manatees have inexplicably died and a super algae bloom has killed sea grass. To the south, fresh water discharges from Lake Okeechobee and stormwater runoff have led to algae, bacteria and signs warning people to stay out of the St. Lucie River. “We’ve got a lot to do,” Nelson said. Scientists detailed the…Read More

As Florida's "Manatee Awareness Month" kicks off in November, environmental groups report a record 769 manatee deaths so far in 2013 — an average of two per day over the past ten months. Experts said 126 of the 2013 deaths have been calves. Many of the manatees are falling victim to an algae bloom known as Florida Red Tide, a natural…Read More